UPDATE 1-Chevron, Nigeria oil union to meet as strike looms

(Adds Chevron comment, edits)

By Randy Fabi

ABUJA, June 24 (Reuters) - Talks between Nigeria's oil workers' union and Chevron (CVX.N) will resume on Thursday in an effort to avert an all-out strike that could further slash output from the OPEC producer, a top union official said.

Union workers continued a partial strike on Tuesday, stopping administrative staff from getting to their offices in Lagos for the second straight day, but oilfield operations were not affected, said PENGASSAN Secretary General Bayo Olowoshile.

"This action is aimed at putting more pressure on management ahead of talks," he told Reuters.

Three-party talks between the union, Chevron and the government are planned for Thursday and Friday in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

"The company is continuing to engage all the stakeholders to resolve all the issues through dialogue," said Chevron spokeswoman Margaret Cooper.

The Chevron branch of PENGASSAN has been demanding the transfer of the expatriate managing director from Nigeria, accusing him of violating safety standards, having too many foreign staff and a lack of respect for Nigerian workers.

Chevron's output from Nigeria is around 350,000 barrels per day, of which its equity share is around 129,000 bpd. A strike at the firm could further cut Nigeria's production, already driven down by militant attacks on oil facilities.

Fears of a fresh supply disruption in the world's eighth-largest oil exporter helped push U.S. crude prices CLc1 near $139 a barrel earlier on Tuesday.

In April, a strike by an oil workers' union at Exxon Mobil's (XOM.N) unit in Nigeria shut down nearly all of the company's 800,000 bpd output in the West African country. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/ ) (Reporting by Randy Fabi; Editing by James Jukwey)